morris mn - We're a community on the grand, seemingly endless prairie of the Upper Midwest. Empty, you might say? It's the epitome of richness, both in the overall environment and the hardy souls who populate. Morris is home to the University of Minnesota-Morris, a small public liberal arts college of distinction.

History-making music group for UMM - morris mn

The UMM men's chorus opened the Minnesota Day program at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition).

Monday, February 29, 2016

H.S. post-season games not what they once were

I've
had some recent conversations regarding the current state of
post-season youth sports. I have offered comments on my "I Love Morris"
site suggesting we want optimal fan turnout for such games. I remember
the old days of games played at our UMM P.E. Center, where
many decibels emanated. You didn't expect any real long trips for
post-season games unless you were fortunate enough to make the section
finals or state.
Today fans are routinely expected to make long,
seemingly illogical trips very early in the post-season. I think it's
rather crazy in some instances. Why should MACA and
Minnewaska fans have to travel to Granite Falls for a second-round
tournament game? This type of obligation has become typical, it would
seem, but are fans complaining? Perhaps not. Perhaps this is just the
new norm.
A long-time Tiger sports follower contacted me to say that
realistically speaking, only the parents and some hard-core fans are
expected at many of the post-season games of today. Why? We've conceded
to the new model where there are so many activities and people are so
spread out, we just accept some of these ragtag fan followings - no big
deal.
I remember the days when the Wheaton girls
basketball team would fill the P.E. Center here, with their fans all
adorned in red and the band building a sense of drama. I'm
old-fashioned. I still associate certain trappings for tournament games.
I'm 61 years old and I guess I'm hopeless.
The MACA boys had just two post-season games, the second being played at the desolate place called YME. What a downer. Minnewaska
absolutely killed us in the first half. Our fans must have been
chagrined and upset. If they weren't, they're in a different universe
from me. I bumped into a parent Sunday at DeToy's. That father said "we looked like we'd never played together before."
Why
such a disaster? Fans invest considerable time and spend money
following this team all winter. And it culminates in this? I have put my
toe in the water and suggested that maybe coaching was a factor. Maybe
it's time we all shed our inhibitions and talk more openly about this.
Inhibitions? Yes, there are certain taboo limitations in Morris,
inexplicably because sports would seem like a harmless, innocuous topic.
Back in the old days when Torgy first got the
appointment, you didn't dare air a skeptical comment, because you'd risk
being ostracized and being insulted to your face on the harshest
personal terms, by people who built their bonds at house parties with
popcorn, soft drinks and maybe an alcoholic drink or two. I had to
occasionally make phone calls to such places to get sports
info/comments, and I'd decipher all this with a background of the usual
party noises and banter. What a waste of time (to be at such a party).
I felt that when Morris lost to Staples at Concordia-Moorhead
in the year after we took second in state, it was the most clear-cut
case of being out-coached I've ever seen. We had essentially our whole
team back. My coverage after this suggested that all wasn't right in
Tiger-ville. I made no blatant comments because I was shrewd enough to
not cross the line, but let's just say I used some selective reporting. I
felt I had to be honest: an attitude that has often made me an outlier
in this community, because I don't go to those parties or join in with
the good old boys. The good old boys of the community strive to keep
everyone in line. As if the whole world cares about the state of Morris
athletics anyway. Well I do care, and I care enough to try to share
constructive observations irregardless of what way the political winds
are blowing.
Staples in that pivotal game was constantly setting up
drives to the basket. It was plain as day: Lynn Peterson had his players
in a deliberate scheme to get high-percentage shots or to draw a foul.
Time after time it worked. Morris? We would sort of lethargically pass
the ball around the perimeter and sometimes there'd be an impulsive shot from outside, and sometimes there'd be one of those lob passes inside to Kevin Loge who would attempt a contested jumper while falling back. We lost.
Some
parents made a maudlin display of assembling behind the Morris bench in
the game's waning moments, showing the world "we still love our sons
even though this game was a disaster." It needn't have been a disaster.
Kevin Loge didn't have to withdraw from basketball in his post-high
school years. I don't care if Kevin himself contacts me and says
everything turned out fine - he definitely had a fire in his belly with
hoops over most of his youth. I think he needed better guidance from
coaches in his last two years of varsity play. I think he ended up
feeling a little disoriented as he tried making the adjustment to
Division I college basketball. You have to be prepared to the max to
plunge into Division I, and even then it's hard.
If Kevin thinks
he's happier now, then I congratulate him. But I think he had the
potential not only to play Division I but of feeling fulfilled playing
Division I.
It may be the whole community assumes our coach Torgerson has a lifetime appointment, and that we defer to him for an
explanation regarding underachieving. I don't, but I guess I have never
reflected the mainstream of thinking, or alleged thinking, in Morris
MN. (I used to call us "Motown" in headlines.)
Dennis Rettke
wanted to appoint Chris Baxter as boys basketball coach. We'll never
know how that would have worked out, and that bothers me. It has never
stopped bothering me. Why do I care? I don't know, maybe I shouldn't.

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Science building at UMM

Click on the image to reach the website of the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Our institution is known as the "jewel in the crown" of the U.

Origin of our town name:

Our community was platted in 1871. Our nation was putting the Civil War behind it and flexing its muscles to the west. Morris was named after a railroad engineer. By midsummer of 1871, the village had become a tent town with a depot, an emigrant house and about eleven saloons. Victorian homes here in the 1880s spelled prosperity.

"Your home on the prairie"

Click on this image to reach the "I Love Morris" website, the older of my two websites (or blogs) - B.W.

An anchor of main street:

Eul's Hardware is an iconic old building on main street (Atlantic Avenue). It's believed to be the oldest building on Atlantic. It was built for the newly established First National Bank. The two-story, 25 x 75 foot building cost about $6000. In 1940 John Eul bought the (then) Citizens Bank building for his hardware operation. He added an addition in 1947. The Euls continue to oversee the business.

"Home of the people lovers"

Click on the image to reach the Willie's Super Valu website. It's the premier full-service grocery store of Stevens County. It's named for the late iconic Willie Martin.

Let there be lights!

What a milestone (and life changer): In the spring of 1897 the first electric lights in the village of Morris came on. A quote from the time: "Our quiet and inoffensive village was suddenly dropped out of the appalling abyss of darkness into the glare of electric sunshine." My, we take it for granted today.

The great Kirby Puckett

Click on the image to listen to a song written by your blog host, Brian Williams, about Kirby Puckett in 1997. The song was recorded in Nashville TN. It was put online in the fall of 2014 (finally). Kirby Puckett left us too soon. He was at home in the Dome!

Stevens County Courthourse

This new complex houses our Stevens County government and services. Click on the image ro reach the official county website.

Wildlife of the early days:

Nature romped with fair abundance within sight of Morris' early residents. Buffalo were seen roving around the prairie east of the Pomme de Terre River. Elk, deer and lynx were numerous, and bear were also seen in a few places. Today, a rare black bear that wanders into town causes a great stir!

Wildflowers just outside Morris

Click on this image to reach the "Minnesota wildflowers" website.

School of distinction:

UMM is an undergraduate liberal arts campus of the University of Minnesota. What a joy it was for Morris to land this, at a time when the old "ag school" on the campus was being phased out. UMM's mission is highly distinctive as an academically rigorous public undergraduate residential liberal arts college. The U of M board of regents established it in 1959.

First Lutheran Church - morris mn

Click on the image to reach the website for First Lutheran Church, an ELCA-affiliated church in east Morris. It's my church - B.W.

Roots of our community:

The first stopping place in Stevens County was Gager's Station, considered by some historians to be one of the more important stopping places on the Wadsworth Trail. The station was nestled among the trees near Wintermute Lake.

Pomme de Terre River - mn

Click on the image to reach the website for the Pomme de Terre River Association. The river flows to the east of Morris, toward Appleton, and eventually joins the Minnesota River.

Lemonade from lemons?

Pomme de Terre Park, Morris' largest and most developed park, probably came about as a direct result of the Depression.

Stevens County Museum - morris mn

Click on this image of our Stevens County Museum to call up the website for the Stevens County Historical Society. The county has a bountiful history. The museum building was originally a Carnegie library. It's on the west side of town. Our public library today is on the east side.

Wind turbines - morris mn

This image includes one of the two grand wind turbines that are a defining feature of Morris. The image also shows the overlook which is part of the WCROC horticulture garden. Those initials stand for "West Central Research and Outreach Center." The turbines are closely associated with the WCROC and the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Click on the image to read background about renewable energy in Morris.

About Me

Brian Williams is a former writer in the Morris "dead tree" media who plies his pastime in the wonderful, liberating new media today. He refuses to consider himself an alternative journalist because the web is now the mainstream. Newspapers are in rapid retreat and it won't be long before they will exist in vestigial form only. Print media will not die because as a media observer put it: "We will always have print media for as long as there's a 'print' button on your computer." A once weekly newspaper (like in Morris) won't cut it. It's not consistent with our instant gratification culture. But the media are blossoming more than ever thanks to all the new tools. It's an uplifting, "green" new universe. Key word suggestions: morris mn - hancock mn - donnelly mn - cyrus mn - chokio mn - alberta mn - 56267 - stevens county - morris theater mn - morris area tigers - hancock owls.

Our old historic Morris Theater

It shows signs of age but we love it. Click on the image to reach the website for our Morris Theater Co-op.

Is this our world?

"In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy."-Ivan Illich

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Historic Stanton House

This 19th Century mansion was originally occupied by Lewis Stanton, son of Edwin Stanton who was U.S. secretary of war under Abraham Lincoln. Click on the image to read a post on the subject from the "I Love Morris" site.

Landmark of long ago

Frisby's Grove was situated between two lakes in Section 22, Morris Township. It became a popular place to stop. Mrs. Frisby was known as a good cook and kind person. The place became popular with emigrants and land seekers.

Morris Public Library - mn

Click on the image to reach the website of the Morris Public Library, a rich asset of the community. It can seem like a beehive sometimes! If serves all ages and interests wonderfully. Our librarian is the dynamic Melissa Yauk.